We Go Together
by AllWasWellatPigfarts
Summary: Rachel Berry and Jesse St. James both attend McKinley High School but run in completely different circles. Over the summer they both audition for a community production of Grease and sparks fly. Will it be more than a summer romance?
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Okay, new story. I'm still working on Coming Home. I'm not sure how many more chapter of that I'm going to do yet but I am still writing it but I also started writing this as well so I decided to put it on here.

Disclaimer: I don't own glee.

Oh and if you're on tumblr follow me, my thingy is .com =]

Jesse and Rachel are the same age in this fic. =] It starts completely AU but will head more towards season one plot as it goes =]

* * *

Rachel walked into the local theatre where they were holding auditions for a production of Grease. Rachel knew it was unlikely for her to get the part of Sandy due to her appearance but she wasn't going to let that stop her. She smiled at the woman at reception before writing down her name and putting a gold star after it. The woman gave her a funny look but Rachel ignored it and sat down in the waiting area.

It was only girls and women auditioning today and Rachel tried to block out some of their conversations but was failing.

"I hear they've already cast all the guys." One girl said to another.

"No just Danny, I think the others are still being decided." Her friend replied.

"Do you know who it is? I bet he's hot."

Rachel sighed before getting up and moving, not wanting to hear any more of their inane conversation when she needed to concentrate.

Inside the auditorium Shelby Corcoran and Jesse St. James sat at directors table that Shelby had set up.

"I appreciate the invite but why am I here?" He asked.

"We both know that your audition was just a formality, I chose Grease with you in mind." Jesse rolled his slightly but let her continue. "So I brought you here to help pick Sandy. I don't want to pick someone you don't like and have to do this all over again."

"Fine, I'll sit through hours of terrible singers until we find someone mediocre enough to not get tomatoes thrown at them."

Shelby glared at him before calling the first girl in to audition. Jesse didn't focus too much on her performing he just judged whether he wanted to sleep with the girl. That would be the best way for him to judge, a nice summer romance with his leading lady was just what the doctor ordered. His ex-girlfriend Quinn had broken up with him a couple of months ago before jumping into the arms of quarterback Finn Hudson. She had told him that while he was cool he didn't have the power or influence of a football player. Jesse scoffed at the memory. All those stupid football players weren't going anywhere. They would be stuck in this cow town reliving their glory days for the rest of their lives while Jesse would be in Hollywood or on Broadway.

Jesse had never told anyone that before, it was his dream and he didn't feel the need to share it with everyone he knew. His parents had encouraged him to join the glee club at his school but he knew it was a waste of time, there were on a couple of students and even his superior talents wouldn't be able to turn that around and he would make himself a social pariah for the rest of his high school existence for no reason. Instead Jesse sang in his room or performed in community theatre over the summer holidays. It was just out of Lima so he didn't have to worry about running into anyone from school. He had been doing these shows since he was seven and so knew Shelby Corcoran, the director very well.

It was a long day as girl after girl walked onto the stage and failed to impress him and Shelby. Some weren't completely terrible and a few he had put a mark next to because they were hot but Jesse was starting to feel tired of the play before they had even really begun. Shelby should have spared him from this he kept thinking.

"There's only one more." Shelby whispered to him.

Jesse looked to the stage as a small girl he recognised from his school stepped out onto the stage. He had seen her around and had seen her getting slushied by Puck and the football team. She was at the bottom of the social ladder at McKinley while he was at the top.

"What are you going to sing?" Shelby asked her.

"On my own from the seminal Broadway classic, Les Mis." She spoke confidantly.

"Okay then." Shelby said and the music started.

Jesse watched her sceptically. He knew she was one of the kids in glee club but that didn't mean anything, you didn't even have to audition to get in. He even moved to start packing up not bothered about hearing this last girl, she didn't look right for the part anyway but as soon as she started singing he stilled. He looked at her in awe, her voice was incredible, she sang with emotion and she didn't seem nervous at all. He would go as far as to say that she was almost as good as him. As the song progressed she hit and held every note.

He looked at Shelby who was smiling. After Rachel finished singing Shelby spoke again. "That was lovely Rachel. I'll be out in a couple of minutes if you could just wait outside."

"She goes to my school." Jesse told her.

"You know her?"

"No, we don't exactly run in the same circles."

"She's talented." Shelby spoke.

"She's not blonde." Jesse argued. He was wary of working with someone from school. He didn't want it getting out that this was what he did with his spare time. He wasn't ashamed, he just knew that people would give him crap for it and he didn't want to have to deal with that.

"It doesn't matter. She was the only one good enough."

"I guess she's it then." He sighed and Shelby looked at him worriedly.

"If you don't want her-"

"No it's fine." He said shaking his head.

Shelby picked up her things and headed out into the waiting area. Jesse stayed in the auditorium and sat on the stage.

Shelby dismissed the rest of the girls and asked Rachel to stay and informed her of their decision.

"Thank you so much." Rachel gushed.

"You deserve it. You're very talented."

Rachel smiled at the compliment and followed Shelby back into the auditorium before she realised something. "You're not going to make me wear a wig are you because I just can't pull of blonde" She said and Shelby chuckled.

"You don't have to be blonde to be Sandy you just have to be innocent and you definitely have that essence about you."

"When do we start?" She asked enthusiastically.

"Well I still need to cast the other characters bar one so we'll probably start rehearsals next week. I'll email you the details when I know and here's the script." She handed Rachel the paper she had just pulled out of her bag.

Jesse saw them coming in and deciding to get it over with, jumped off the stage and made his way over to them.

"This is Jesse St. James, he's playing Danny Zuko." Shelby introduced.

"You?" Rachel asked with her eyebrows raised and Jesse chuckled.

"Yes, me."

"Are you any good?" She asked and he laughed sardonically before jumping onto the stage and motioning to the band. Rachel was surprised when One Song Glory began playing and Jesse belted it out. Rachel's eyebrows did not lower as she stared at him in complete surprise. She had never thought that Jesse St. James one of the hottest and most popular guys in school was hiding a talent like that.

Shelby waved goodbye to Jesse and spoke it to Rachel before walking out and heading home.

When Jesse finished Rachel clapped. "Impressive, but you were a slightly flat in places."

Jesse looked at her, shocked that she would criticise him. "No I wasn't."

"I have an amazing ear and you were definitely flat but for an impromptu performance it was pretty good. I'm sure with some rehearsal you'll be great."

"I'm amazing. I don't need to hear your opinions." He spoke to her, his temper slightly getting the best of him.

"It's not opinion." She argued back. "Just because everyone in school kisses your ass and thinks you're perfect doesn't mean there isn't room for improvements."

Jesse scoffed. "If anyone needs work it's you."

"You try and convince yourself of that. I'm going to outshine you and every member of that audience is going to agree."

"Audiences love me."

"You've never had to compete with me."

"I have more experience."

"I'm more confident."

At the last statement Jesse laughed loudly. He had never met anyone more confidence than him and she could tell that's what he was thinking.

"Tell me Jesse, do any of your friends know you sing?" Jesse's face fell at her words. "You may be able to walk through the halls and turn heads, you may be able to perform confidently but that's not you. Jesse isn't confident, at least not enough to be yourself."

He stared at her in shock. He couldn't believe her gall or how easily she had seen through him. "Who the hell do you think you are?" Before she could give him an answer he turned and stormed away.

Rachel sighed. That had not gone well but she had been right. She would probably have to apologise when they started rehearsal. She still couldn't believe that Jesse St. James was doing community theatre or that he was possibly the most talented person she had ever met. However she definitely wasn't wrong about what she said, he wasn't himself in school. If doing this was what he loved then hiding it from his friends meant that he was hiding himself.

She could understand why. She was proof of what love of show tunes and Broadway could do to you in high school. Just because she was driven and passionate people thought she was weird. Just because she was a bit bossy and high maintenance people didn't want to be her friend, and just because she dressed differently and didn't have the most traditional upbringing people made fun of her. She could understand why Jesse hid it. She just thought he was a coward for doing so.

Soon enough they started rehearsal and Rachel and Jesse were sitting in a room for a read through. He had ignored her since he arrived and even when they were reading scenes with each other, he was avoiding looking at her. Even Shelby noticed something was wrong and told them all to take a break. They split into groups and started talking.

"Jesse?" She caught his attention. He looked at her blankly. "I'm sorry for what I said. It wasn't my place and I understand." She spoke softly and he watched as her face fell slightly. "Let's face it. I'm a prime example of what it's like when you're yourself in high school. It's not exactly an enviable existence."

He looked at her sadly. It couldn't be easy for her. He had seen the girls picking on her and the guys making fun of her. He had never personally slushied anyone but he didn't stop them either so he was just as bad. Jesse hooked his finger under her chin and lifted her head to look at him. "You're better than them. You're better than all of us." He spoke, knowing it wasn't easy if you weren't popular.

"I know. I just have to wait until they all see it too."

He smiled at her confidence. "You really are confident." He laughed and she joined him. "I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have flipped at you like that. Would you believe me if I said I'm not used to criticism?"

"Yes but get used to it, I'm here now." She teased and he rolled his eyes playfully. "And you know you will actually have to look at me while we do scenes don't you?"

"Ha ha." He deadpanned. "I was committing to being pissed at you."

She laughed and he couldn't help but notice how pretty she was when she smiled. He turned his head quickly so she wouldn't think she was staring. The rest of the read through was a success and the tension had lifted from the room and it became much more enjoyable. Shelby let them go and as Rachel waited outside the building for her dad who was going to be late Jesse walked over to her.

"How are you getting home?" He asked.

"My dad's coming to collect me but he's running a bit late."

"Call him, I'll take you home." He said.

"No, it's okay."

"I'm not taking no for an answer." He told her and so she called her dad as she got into Jesse's car.

"Hey Dad, don't worry a friend said he'd drop me home. Yes I have it. Bye dad."

Jesse looked at her. "Sorry about that." She smiled apologetically.

"What do you have?"

"My rape whistle."

* * *

Hope you liked it. =] Please review, I love reading your thoughts and reactions.

Jesse laughed and directed Rachel over to his car.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I am so happy with the response to this story and because I'm wonderful I decided to update straight away =]

I have sadly only just fallen in love with John Gallagher Jr (late I know lol) but I've been listening to the american idiot soundtrack non-stop and I am gutted that I didn't get to see it (I live in england so it wouldn't have made a difference) but If anyone knows a good link for me to watch it can you let me know?

Also, realised my tumblr didn't show so its imlikewhy . tumblr . comXD

* * *

"What do you want to listen to?" He asked as he pulled out of the parking lot.

"Let's see what you've got." She said opening his glove compartment to where she knew she'd find CDs.

She grabbed a pile and flicked through them. "You sure do have a lot of Queen." She teased.

"Freddie Mercury was a genius." He defends.

"I can't refute that." She admits as she puts the CD in.

They end up both singing along to every song and they are both slightly surprised by just how well their voices harmonise. As they get closer to her house Rachel directs him and he pulls up outside. He recognised Puck's truck in the driveway.

"What's Puck doing here?" He asked confused.

"He's probably dropping something off for his mom."

"Wait your families know each other?"

"Yeah, it comes with being one of the few Jewish families in the area."

"But in school…" He trails off.

"Noah and I aren't close." She explains.

"But still." He presses. Puck had slushied her on numerous occasions, he can't believe that he did that to a family friend.

"It doesn't bother me." She speaks defiantly.

"You don't need to lie to me."

"I barely know you." She mutters.

"Then lets change that." He starts the car again and begins to drive away.

"Jesse! My dads are expecting me home."

"You have a phone don't you?"

She sighs and texts her dad. "This could be considered kidnapping you know?" He just smirks in response and she rolls her eyes before looking out the window. "Where are you taking me?"

"My special place."

"What are you, a twelve year old girl?"

"Tell me you don't have one." He challenged and she quickly shut her mouth. After about fifteen minutes he parked his car at the side of the road at the bottom of a hill. They both got out of the car and Jesse started to walk up the hill. Rachel stood at the bottom looking sceptically at Jesse. He stopped when he realised that she wasn't following him.

"Come on." He stretched his hand out to her. She looked up the hill again.

"This isn't a plan to push me to my death because you know that I'm going to be the star of the show is it?"

"You're very suspicious."

"That wasn't a no."

He laughed loudly and walked back down to her, grabbing her hand and pulling her up with him. He didn't let go the whole way to the top where Rachel saw was a secluded, flat, grassy area. It was surrounded by large rocks and looked out across a small lake.

"Sometimes, I come up here to sing." He tells her as he sits down. She sits down next to him and admires the view.

"What about the rest of the time?"

"Just to be alone. It's so peaceful up here."

"Yeah."

"So where's yours?" He asked curiously, turning to look at her. He found her just as beautiful as the view below them.

"My what?"

"Your special place?"

She looked down shyly. "There's an old abandoned theatre in the park near school. It's all locked up but there's a small gap at the back that I found when I was younger. There's still a stage and the seats and everything. I like to go there and practice or just imagine that I'm in a theatre in New York, away from Ohio."

"It does suck here." He spoke softly. "How do you do it?"

"What, live here?"

"No, how do you put up with all the crap you get at school?" He asked.

"You get used to it."

"You shouldn't have to."

"I know. I just remember that in a few years they will be washing cars while I'm on red carpets and dining in five star restaurants in New York."

"I thought the same when Quinn broke up with me." He spoke. "Apparently I don't have as much power as the football players." He scoffed and Rachel pulled back slightly. It seemed that he wasn't quite over his ex. "To be honest the relationship was a dead end and I only stayed with her because I couldn't come up with a good enough reason to break up with her but if I knew she'd use one so shallow I wouldn't have worried."

Rachel laughed slightly and moved back to her original position. It was only a subtle movement but Jesse did notice it. He felt like he hyper aware of her and it was strange, he didn't understand it.

"Sing something." He instructed.

"What?"

"It's amazing to sing up here."

"I don't know what I would sing." She pulled away shyly.

"Sing something you want to sing to everyone." He pulled her up and turned her to face so that she was looking out over the town. She looked down and he stayed standing behind her, his hands sliding from the tops of her arms down to her waist. She burst into Defying Gravity and Jesse smirked. He closed his eyes and let her voice wash over him. He was glad he had found someone who he could share his passion with. It also didn't hurt that he found her insanely attractive. It wasn't just her looks, he liked the whole package and it had only been a week since he first spoke to her.

She hit the last note perfectly and he let her enjoy the moment. "That was incredible." She whispered.

"I told you."

"I feel so free." Jesse nodded knowing what she meant. She turned to face him. He didn't move his arms from around her and she didn't seem to mind.

He got caught looking into her eyes. She smiled at him softly and he returned it before dipping his head down and capturing her lips. The kiss was soft and sweet. When they pulled away Jesse watched carefully for her reaction. She opened her eyes and smiled at him.

"Well aren't you forward Mr St. James." He laughed happily and pulled her down to sit between his legs.

They sat for a while in companionable silence. Rachel played with Jesse's hands where they rested around her waist. As the sun started to set, Jesse suggested that they head down as the path could be tricky in the dark if you didn't know it well. They walked down hand in hand. Their hands stayed linked for most of the car journey too. For the second time that day, he pulled up outside her house.

"We should do this again." He said.

Rachel smiled. "My place next time."

He nodded and he leaned towards her, she closed the distance as they shared a sweet goodbye kiss. "See you tomorrow Jesse."

"Good night Rachel."

She climbed out of the car and he watched as she walked up the path to her front door. Before she opened it she turned and sent him a small wave. He didn't think he had ever seen anything cuter and drove home with a huge smile on his face, he doubted that even his parents wouldn't be able to dampen his mood, if they were even in the country, he never could be sure.

Rachel walked into the house a huge smile on her face. She had failed to notice that the Puckerman's car had been just outside the house and walked into her living room to find her dads sitting with Puck, his sister and his mother.

"Sweetie, did you forget we were having dinner with the Puckermans tonight?" Her dad Leroy asked.

"I'm so sorry." She spoke quickly.

"We got your text." Hiram spoke and Rachel nodded.

"I'm sorry, I completely forgot."

"It's okay Rachel." Pucks mother spoke in a way that showed Rachel that she didn't think that it was okay.

"So how was rehearsal?" Leroy asked.

"It was good, a bit awkward at first."

"Did you and the male lead make up?"

Rachel nodded a smile flitting across her face. "That's who I was with actually. We felt it would be best if we got to know each other since we'll be working so closely together."

Hiram smiled knowingly while Leroy looked slightly disgruntled, both realising what had gone unsaid.

"What play are you doing?" Pucks sister Sophie asked.

"Grease." She informed her. "I'm playing Sandy."

"Isn't Sandy meant to be blonde?" Puck asked.

"The director made a creative decision as I was clearly the most talented person they were going to get."

"Did you know that Quinn Fabray is quite a good singer?" He informed her and her face scrunched up in dislike.

"Even so, I doubt that she would surpass my years of vocal training and performance experience."

Puck stopped talking and they spent the rest of the evening listening to the adults talking. She felt her phone buzz and pulled it out of her pocket. It was from Jesse. They had exchanged numbers at the end of rehearsal in case they needed to contact each other about anything.

_Want to do something tomorrow? X_

She smiled and quickly text him back.

_Sure, what do you want to do? X_

She waited for his reply anxiously, unable to concentrate on anything that was being said.

_They're showing Funny Girl at the old cinema downtown. I figured that would be your thing. X_

She quickly typed back. It was perfect and she hadn't even told him of her Barbra obsession.

_You figured right. Barbra is my idol. Pick me up? X_

"Rachel's texting a boy!" Sophie told the room and Rachel's head shot up.

"No, I'm not." It sounded weak to her own ears and everyone in the room smirked slightly.

_I'll be at yours at 3. Sweet dreams. X_

She checked it quickly before looking up to a room of knowing faces. "I was just confirming plans for tomorrow."

"Plans with a boy." Sophie added.

"Well we better be going." Puck's mom said and they quickly said their goodbyes and left.

"So who is this boy?" Leroy asked as the three of them sat in the living room.

"He's perfect daddy." She informed him. "He's so talented and nice and clever. He gets me. I didn't even tell him about how much I love Barbra and he knew that I'd love to go to see Funny Girl with him tomorrow." She gushed.

"What's him name?" Hiram asked smiling.

"Jesse." She told them, a smile gracing her features as she spoke his name.

They said goodnight and Rachel went up to bed. She couldn't stop thinking about Jesse, he was invading her every thought. She checked facebook on her laptop and saw that he had sent her a friend request. She accepted and looked through his page. She was slightly taken aback by just how popular he was. He'd had a lot party invitations even over the last week or so. He had so many friends. She clicked onto her own profile and felt slightly self-conscious. She only had a small number of friends and her wall was almost completely blank. She closed facebook and tried to ignore the feeling building up inside. She knew that Jesse knew she wasn't popular but she was worried that when he saw just how much of a loser she was he would want nothing to do with her. She quickly pushed these thoughts aside. He liked her for her. He didn't care what people thought about her, in fact it seemed like he thought they were completely wrong. That helped put her into a deep sleep.

The next day her fathers went to work and Rachel spent the entire morning getting ready for her date with Jesse. She wanted to look good but not like she had put too much thought into it, which actually took a lot of work. At three o' clock, Rachel saw Jesse's car pull up outside her house. She didn't want to seem too eager so she let him walk the entire way up to the door, ring the bell and then she waited a few seconds before slowly getting up and walking to the door.

"Hey." She greeted him with a smile once she had opened the door.

"Hi. Are you ready to go?"

She nodded, grabbed her purse from its place by the door and joined him on the front step. She locked the front door and Jesse took her hand as they walked towards his car.

"How's your day been so far?" He asked.

"Pretty uneventful." She wasn't about to tell him she spent the whole morning stressing about their date.

"Mine too." He smirked slightly. Rachel wondered if he had done the exact same thing as her, she wouldn't be surprised.

They walked into the cinema and Jesse insisted on paying for the tickets so Rachel bought the snacks. They both agreed on where the best seats were and sat down. The screen was practically empty.

"It shows a severe lack of culture in this town." Rachel sighed.

"Well not everyone can be as well rounded as us. Plus if this place was full I wouldn't be able to do this." He leant over and kissed her. She kissed him back until the film started.

"It's sacrilegious to make out during a Barbra film." She told him. "Especially Funny Girl."

"So I'll strike it off my make out movie list then?" He teased, receiving a funny look from Rachel.

He let it go and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. She leant in to him, resting her head on his chest. Throughout the film they both mouthed the words and sang along quietly to the songs. Jesse had never felt more comfortable with another person and he wondered that if he had been himself in school or joined the glee club would he have had this for longer? He could feel himself falling, something he promised himself he would never do. He knew it was inescapable, she'd drawn him in and he was powerless to stop her. He knew that it worked both ways though.

After the film finished Rachel and Jesse walked out and climbed back into his car. They drove to the park near their school because Jesse was dying to see Rachel's Theatre. On the way there they discussed the significance of the role of Fanny Brice and her plans to play her on Broadway. Jesse imagined himself watching her from the front row and couldn't get the image out of his head. They walked through the park hand in hand and eventually came to the abandoned theatre. It was a relatively small building and was decrepit looking, with faded brickwork and tiles missing from the roof. They snuck in what would have been something like the stage door that was missing its bottom half. Rachel led the way confidently, not letting go of Jesse's hand and pulled him out onto the small stage.

Jesse started to sing quietly and realised that despite its state, the acoustics in the theatre were still amazing. Rachel smiled knowingly at him as he carried on singing Your Song. They spent the afternoon singing songs, together and apart. They practiced scenes and songs from Grease, they imagined performing songs from different musicals on Broadway, from RENT to Spring Awakening to Funny Girl to Evita. They both knew the words to the songs the other wanted to sing.

Jesse realised it was nearing nine o' clock and realised that they should probably leave soon.

"My curfew is ten." Rachel told him.

"But I want to get in your dads good books." He told her even though he had no idea where that had come from, he'd never cared before.

"One more song."

"What do you want to sing?"

"It's your pick." She told him smiling.

"Do you know Hello by Lionel Richie?" He asked. She nodded. They sang it together and it was mind blowing.

* * *

A/N: If you review I will update quicker =] - I hate to hold you to a threat like that but oh well =P


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I said I would upload quickly =]

* * *

Jesse walked with Rachel up to her front door. It was barely quarter past nine and Rachel was slightly disappointed to lose any time she could have had with Jesse. He kissed her goodnight on her doorstep and she went inside. When the door had closed she leant back against it and sighed, deciding to play the cliché her life was becoming for everything it was worth. She walked into the kitchen where her fathers were waiting for her.

"You're home early." Hiram said.

"My curfew's ten." She said her brow furrowing.

"It was ten when we agreed on in it in your freshman year. You're sixteen now Rachel, I think we can make it later." He looked to Leroy who nodded in agreement.

Rachel smiled happily. "We'll extend it to twelve." Leroy informed her.

"Thank you!" She excitedly hugged them before wishing them goodnight and went up to her bedroom.

"What kind of parents extend their daughters curfew when she gets a boyfriend?" Leroy raised a sceptical eyebrow.

"Okay, she hasn't called him her boyfriend, so don't get ahead of yourself." Hiram reasoned. "Besides, she is getting older and I just want her to be happy and enjoy this."

"As long as she doesn't enjoy herself too much." He replied stoically.

"We've done everything we can. She's fully informed and I trust her to be able to make that decision for herself."

"But she's so young."

"She's a young woman now."

"No, she's a child."

"Leroy, we can't control her. If we try she is likely to rebel. We have a good relationship with our daughter. I don't want to lose that."

"Oh so because you want to be friends with our daughter we need to ignore these sorts of issues."

Hiram sighed. "Of course not and it's not that I'm trying to be her friend. I just don't want to spend years fighting with her over inconsequential things. She doesn't have a mother to talk about these sorts of things with so we need to provide her with an open environment where she feels like she can come to us with anything. If we act cagey about boys and possible relationships she won't come to us when she does need someone to talk to."

Leroy considered what Hiram said and nodded. "Fine, but you can be who she goes to with problems and I can be the one to kill the little punk if he hurts her."

"Agreed." Hiram smiled.

\o\

When Jesse returned home he saw that his father's Jaguar was in the driveway. He sat in his car for a few moments debating whether to drive away and crash at Mike's until his parents left. He eventually decided to go inside realising that they might notice if he didn't come home the whole time they were there. Emphasis on _might_. Jesse walked into his house and he found his mother drinking a glass of wine in the kitchen. The bottle was almost empty and she had a cigarette resting between her manicured fingers. She nodded to him. He hadn't seen her in over five months and all he gets is a nod, not even a slurred greeting. He doesn't know why he's even surprised.

He goes into his father's study, hoping for something other than the cold shoulder he usually gets.

"Dad." He speaks, getting his father's attention.

"Jesse, how are you son?"

He's slightly taken aback but doesn't let it show. "I'm good. How have the last five or so months been for you?" He fails from stopping the bitterness seeping into his words.

Brian St. James doesn't notice. "They've been busy. The business is really expanding." Jesse nodded uninterestedly. He and his father were very different people, apart from their show faces. Well, Brian would call it a poker face but that was just another one of their differences. Brian did not understand Jesse's passion or his talent. It was part of the reason he didn't tell many people. If his parents couldn't understand what are the chances anyone else would. They treated it like a joke and Brian constantly asked what he really wanted to do with his life.

"I've actually arranged for you to do a bit of work experience this summer, just to get a taste for the business."

"I don't need to a taste for it Dad, because I'm never going to do it. Besides, I've got a summer project."

"Not more community theatre? Jesse, it's time to get serious. That's a hobby. You have to think about what you're going to do with your life." Brian spoke exasperatedly and Jesse felt the anger swelling in his chest.

"It is what I want to do with my life. I'm really talented and I want this but you know what? Even if it doesn't work out I would not go anywhere near your business." He spat before turning around and walking out. He wasn't in the mood to fight with his dad. He had been having such a good day until he saw his parents. He should have just gone to Mike's.

He flopped down onto his bed and played the American Idiot soundtrack on his computer. He couldn't see straight. Every time his parents came home they had this effect on him. The last time they had come home he had been dating Quinn and she couldn't understand why he suddenly turned into the biggest asshole she had ever met and he really hadn't wanted to talk to her about it. He wanted to talk about it to Rachel but he doubted she would understand. Everyone in Lima knew about her family but the one thing Jesse knew without even having to meet Rachel's dads is that they probably worshipped the ground she walked on. They put thought and consideration, and a lot of money he was sure, into her conception. She was wanted before she had even existed. While Jesse had heard on numerous occasions that he was a mistake. His older brother and sister had been planned because the St. James' needed to be a picture perfect family but they were respectively thirteen and fifteen years older than him and he hardly ever saw them. His parents had married and had his siblings when they were young but Jesse had been a surprise and not one they were happy about and he had continued to disappoint them throughout his life.

He was too young to know whether his dad had ever tried to force his brother Andrew to take the company and it wasn't like they talked so he couldn't ask. Besides, Andrew had a respectable profession as a lawyer so it was hardly the same.

Jesse took his phone out of his pocket and sent Rachel a goodnight text and then looked through the pictures they had taken that day. He had taken one of her singing and she insisted on taking some of him and then together. There was one that he had now made his background, where they were both smiling with their faces pressed against each other. Looking at it and remembering how he had felt just a few hours ago helped defuse the anger he had been feeling. It did however create a space for a wave of anxiousness to break its way in. He had been on one date with the girl and just thinking about her could make him forget about everything. He was afraid to start depending on her. It didn't hurt when his parents left because he didn't care about them, but he already felt like it would hurt like hell if Rachel ever left him. He fell into a restless sleep, filled with dreams of working in an office wearing a suit while seeing pictures of Rachel on red carpets on the arm of some actor.

When he went downstairs the next morning to grab something for breakfast before heading to rehearsal he found his parents sitting at the breakfast table.

"Jesse, we wanted to talk to you." His mother spoke.

"Well that makes a nice change." He muttered.

"Can we get through one conversation without the sarcasm?" Brian asked.

Jesse rolled his eyes but sat down in the empty seat.

"At the end of the summer we are going to be moving to California." His mother informed him.

"What?" He shouted, outraged.

"We felt that living somewhere else might be better for our family."

He laughed bitterly. "You don't live here!"

"Jesse!" Brian reprimanded.

"No, you're never around and now you're going to take me out of my home and away from my friends because you don't like a place that you don't spend any time in. This is a fucking joke." He stormed out, slamming the front door behind him.

With rehearsal the farthest thing from his mind he drove quickly to the hill and ran up to the top. Once there he screamed, a loud deep sound tore from within him and he was satisfied to see a flock of birds flying out of a tree at the shock of the sound. It was almost cinematic. He breathed deeply, still out of breath from running up the hill. He took out his ipod and started listening to it glaring out across the lake.

/o/

Rachel sat on the stage doing a few warm ups with some of the other actresses.

"Where's Jesse?" Shelby asked the room but got no reply. Rachel had texted him and called him but he hadn't picked up. She had assumed that he was running late but they were almost an hour into their day and he still wasn't there. He didn't turn up all day and Shelby was not happy. That day Rachel had driven herself because both of her dads had work so she headed towards the hill on a whim. She knew Jesse wasn't the type of person to miss rehearsal for no reason especially without letting anyone know. She saw his car and parked behind him. The path was blocked from view at the top so he wouldn't see her coming. When she neared the top she could hear him singing 'Don't do Sadness' from Spring Awakening.

_Awful sweet to be a little butterfly  
Just wingin' over things  
And nothing deep inside.  
Nothing goin', goin' wild in you, you know.  
You're slowing by the riverside,  
Or floatin' high and blue._

She could hear the anger penetrating his singing. She stood silently and listened to him.

_Or may be cool to be a little summer wind.  
Like once through everything  
And then away again.  
With the taste of dust in your mouth all day  
But no need to know.  
Like sadness, you just sail away._

_'Cuz you know I don't do sadness,  
Not even a little bit.  
Just don't need it in my life.  
Don't want any part of it.  
I don't do sadness.  
Hey, I've done my time  
Lookin' back on it all.  
Man, it blows my mind.  
I don't do sadness,  
So been there.  
Don't do sadness,  
Just don't care._

She stepped up and started to sing 'Blue Wind'. He didn't seem surprised so she figured she must not have been as quiet or as stealthy as she had thought.

_Spring and summer ev'ry other day  
Blue wind gets so sad  
Blowin' through the thick corn,  
Through the bales of hay,  
Through the open books on the grass  
Spring and summer  
Sure, when it's autumn  
Wind always wants to  
Creep up and haunt you  
Whistlin' it's got you  
With its heartache, with its sorrow  
Winter wind sings and it cries_

As she sang she moved to stand closer to him. She didn't touch him she just stood behind him. She could see that his fists were clenched and hoped that he wouldn't be angry that she was there.

_Spring and summer ev'ry other day  
Blue wind gets so pained  
Blowin' through the thick corn,  
Through the bales of hay,  
Through the sudden drift of the rain  
Spring and summer._

When he began to sing the next verse she figured that he didn't mind her being there.

_So maybe I should be some kind of laundry line.  
Hang their things on me  
And I will swing 'em dry.  
You're just wait in' the sun through the afternoon,  
And then see, they come to set you free  
Beneath the risin' moon._

They began to sing together in counterpart. Neither moving from their place, each enjoying the dramatic place and each consumed with their thoughts.

_'Cuz you know I don't do sadness/ Spring and summer ev'ry other day  
Not even a little bit/ Blue wind gets so lost  
Just don't need it in my life/ Blowin' through the thick corn,  
Don't want any part of it/ Through the bales of hay  
I don't do sadness/ Spring and summer ev'ry other day  
Hey, I've done my time/ Blue wind gets so lost  
Lookin' back on it all/ Blowing through the think corn  
Man, it blows my mind/ Through the bales of hay  
I don't do sadness So been there/ Through the wandering clouds of the dust  
Don't do sadness just don't care/ Spring and summer_

They finished and Rachel spoke up. "What were you singing about?"

"My parents are home."

"And you don't have a good relationship?" She guessed. Jesse scoffed and moved slightly further away from her.

"Hey, don't do that. Talk to me." She demanded.

He shook his head. "I can't. You wouldn't understand."

"Then explain it to me. I want to understand." She spoke softly and it seemed to convince him. He didn't want to tell her that he was moving to California, not after they had only just met. He looked at her sadly but took her hand and sat down. He kept hold of her hand as he explained his relationship with his parents and how they were never supportive of what he wanted to do.

"And now…" He paused. Just looking at her he couldn't bear to tell her that he would be leaving after he had spent the whole of the night before having nightmares of a life without her.

"Now what?"

"They're moving to California and I have to go with them." He muttered dejectedly.

"What? When?" Rachel asked unable to hide her sadness.

He turned to look at her. "At the end of the summer."

"Jesse…" She spoke sadly.

"I know." He knew that she would miss him. He knew that she didn't want him to leave. He knew that she was sorry. He knew all this because he felt it too. "I think it would be best if we just kept our relationship professional from now on." He spoke rigidly, not allowing any emotion into his voice as he pulled away from her.

"What? No, Jesse I-"

"Rachel, we're in too deep already and it's only been a couple of days. I don't want to spend the whole of this summer falling in love with only to leave you behind. I can't do it."

Jesse looked at her earnestly and she knew on some level that he was right. "But does that mean we should miss out on our chance? Why shouldn't we enjoy the time while we have it?"

Jesse shook his head sadly. "Because it would hurt too much."

"So instead we just spend the summer watching each other hurting because it will hurt less when you leave. Either way, Jesse, it's going to hurt."

"No. I think it would be best if we don't pursue this any further." He finished resolutely unable to look into her eyes. She didn't move or speak so he got up and walked back down to his car.

* * *

A slightly sadder chapter perhaps but I hope you enjoyed it. =]


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: I'm getting such a positive response to this story and I love it =] Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, your lovely words make my day. This is a bit of a filler chapter and its a bit shorter but I hope you still enjoy it.

* * *

The weeks ticked by and Jesse was sticking to his decision and was only talking to Rachel when he was in character or if he absolutely needed to. Rachel couldn't concentrate, she hated that she couldn't just talk to him. She hated that she had to see him every day but wasn't able to hug him or kiss him or hold his hand. At first she had tried to talk him into changing his mind but he had arrived and left rehearsal with little time to spare. She knew he was doing it on purpose to avoid her. She also saw from his facebook profile that he had been going to every party he could while he was still in Lima.

On the opening night of the show as they were passing each other in the hallway before it started Jesse grabbed her hand and pulled her into a hug. It was slightly too long to be considered friendly but afterwards he showed no sign of it ever happening. The show was a success and every show had been sold out which surprised everyone involved. Rachel savoured every moment on stage because she knew that the closer it got to the end of their two week run, it got closer to the time that Jesse had to leave.

When it came to their curtain call on their last performance Rachel was in tears. She was terrified that she would never see Jesse again and when they took their bows she gripped his hand tightly refusing to let go. He gripped her hand just as hard and they didn't let go at any point, which confused the rest of the cast who thought that the two of them weren't really that close. After the show she still refused to let go of Jesse's hand and walked to her dressing room and leaving him no choice but to come with her.

She knew her dads would want to congratulate her but she needed to spend some time with Jesse before he left.

She wiped the tears from her eyes but it was a useless act as more fell to replace them. "I couldn't let you go without giving you this." She choked out.

She went over to her dresser and opened the drawer to take out the picture of them that she'd had framed. It was one from their first date. They had set her camera which had been in her purse on timer and moved to the centre of the stage. She was standing in his arms and they were staring into each other's eyes. The dusty theatre provided the perfect backdrop and they looked stunning together. She'd had it printed in black and white so it looked even more professional. She had also planned to get a card but felt that a colourful 'sorry you're leaving' card wouldn't quite express what she was feeling. She doubted that they made 'please don't go I think I'm falling in love with you and can't bear the thought of being without you' cards. So instead she had written a small message at the bottom of the photograph. She held it out for him to take and he did so slowly and looking at the picture a shadow crossed his face.

His face fell as he finally let himself accept the fact that he was leaving. He had focused so much on the show and had pretty much avoided going home but now he would have to face it. He would spend the next few days packing and then he would be headed to California with only a few memories of Rachel Berry. He suddenly regretted not listening to her before and wished that he could have had that time with her. He quickly reminded himself of his reasoning. If it was hard now, he couldn't even imagine how difficult it would have been if he had fallen in love with her.

He walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a passionate kiss. He could feel her gripping onto the t-shirt he was wearing and her other hand holding on to his neck. He pulled her in even closer, deepening the kiss. He could feel her tears wetting his cheeks and pulled away leaning his forehead against hers. She stared up into his eyes and he hated himself for the pain that he saw there. He knew that it was unfair to do this to her just before he left but he couldn't stop himself.

"I'm going to miss you." She whispered.

He nodded. "We'll meet again someday, I know it." He promised.

"Will you call?"

She already knew the answer but as he closed his eyes and shook his head she felt the gripping feeling in her stomach deepen. She looked down and he rested his hand on her neck. He kissed her slowly on the forehead, breathing in her scent.

"Goodbye Rachel." His voice was hoarse from unshed tears and he moved quickly from the room not wanting to let her see him cry. He leant back against the wall and looked up to prevent the tears from falling. He looked again at the picture and saw the message at the bottom.

_I will never forget the short time we spent together. I think I could have fallen in love with you.  
Rachel Berry *_

The small star she had drawn at the end of the message made him smile. It was more her than an x would have been. He was sure he could have fallen in love with her too. He was worried that he had already.

As Jesse left the theatre he saw Rachel standing with her fathers. They were smiling widely at her and congratulating her. Jesse ducked his head quickly left the theatre. When he arrived home he ran up to his room and locked the door. He plugged his ipod in and played a playlist he had set up after he ended things with Rachel. He lay on his bed and looked at the picture she had given him. Reaching into his bedside cabinet he pulled out a box. Inside it was a delicate pearl bracelet with a white gold star at the centre. He didn't know how he was going to give in to her. They had said goodbye and he didn't want to do it again. The memory was perfectly heart breaking; anything else would just be painful. He thought about dropping it over the morning that he left, but he also didn't want her to think that he had only gotten her something because she gave him something.

He decided to post it through her letterbox that night so she would get it in the morning. He drove to her house quickly and dropped it off before quickly driving away again.

The next morning Rachel went down to breakfast and saw a jewellery box on the table. She looked at her fathers. "What's this for?"

"We don't know, it's not from us. It was put through the letterbox." Hiram told her, watching carefully as she slowly opened the box. She had told them what had happened between her and Jesse and while they sympathised with her they did seem to think that Jesse was right.

She took the bracelet out of the box and looked at it closely.

"It's beautiful." She heard Leroy comment and she nodded absentmindedly. She turned the star over and saw the letters J+R engraved on the back. She smiled sadly.

"I think I'm feeling a movie marathon." Hiram said and Rachel saw him raising his eyebrows and widening his eyes at Leroy to get him to agree. She knew what they were trying to do and appreciated it. She would need to forget about Jesse St. James and get on with living her life. After that day Jesse was never brought up in their house. Rachel never mentioned him and her fathers didn't want to upset her when she seemed to be getting over him.

Jesse left for California on the 27th of August and Rachel took that day to feel sad. She knew that he had left that day because she saw it on facebook. They may not have been planning to keep in touch but neither of them made the step to delete each other from their friends but Rachel did take him off of her news feed.

When Rachel went back to school that September she was sure that it was going to be exactly the same as every other year, but she was wrong. She finally managed to get Sandy Ryerson fired, not just as glee club director but from the school entirely. She supposed that she should feel guilty but she didn't tell the principle anything that wasn't true and Mr Ryerson was a terrible teacher anyway. After that, Mr Schuester, the Spanish teacher took over the glee club. At times, Rachel felt like he was out to destroy her life but she could see what he was doing for the glee club and so most of the time toned down her extreme drama queen tendencies.

When Mr Schue took over he held auditions. They didn't get many people and Rachel thought that maybe it didn't matter who was in charge, glee would always be for losers. Then, Mr Schue somehow got Finn Hudson, the school quarterback to join. Rachel had to admit he had a nice voice and she did think he was kind of cute. She had already decided her crush on him before he told her that he had a girlfriend but she didn't really care about that. He was something she could focus on and she was something that would keep her mind off of Jesse. The first song that she sang with him was 'You're the one that I want' from Grease. She threw herself into the song to avoid thinking about singing it with Jesse and then comparing Jesse to Finn. If she was honest with herself she knew that Finn suited Quinn much better than her and she suited Jesse much better than she did Finn, but Jesse wasn't there.

After Finn joined, Quinn, Brittany and Santana joined. Rachel was suspicious of their motives but they needed the numbers. After that a few guys from the football team joined and they now had enough members to make up a full competitive glee club, albeit a small one. Rachel was ecstatic and threw herself into it. There were a few set-backs; she quit to do the school production but quickly returned, missing the feel of a team. She was surprised at how much she enjoyed being a part of the team. She would always be disappointed when she didn't get a solo and on a particularly bad day that might result in a storm out but for the most part she enjoyed every part of glee club.

Finn and Quinn were still going strong despite the fact that Finn had kissed Rachel a couple of times and had used her to try and get a scholarship. Rachel also briefly dated Puck and they became quasi-friends and he promised to stop slushying her. Rachel also found herself developing a crush on Will Schuster but Susie Pepper of all people brought her to her senses. But Susie Pepper didn't know what she was talking about. It wasn't her self-esteem issues that drew her towards guys she could never truly have, it was that she had found the one that she wanted but he lived in another state and didn't want to talk to her. However, she did see that Mr Schuester wasn't a healthy option. He told her she would find the guy who would love her for all her flaws and it made her cry because she was sure that she had already found him.

As they were gearing up for sectionals it came out that Quinn had cheated on Finn with Puck. Finn angrily quit the glee club but saved the day when they lost their entire set list. They ended up winning and Rachel began a tentative relationship with him. She could tell that he wasn't completely invested in it. She kept pushing, hoping that he would break up with her but it had hurt more than she expected to when he did. It was mostly because she knew that he still thought of her as a loser despite everything and that hurt. She hoped that once people actually got to know her they would actually like her.

Their hello assignment had made her think of Jesse and so she put all her energy into the anger she was feeling at Finn and she also refused to do a hello song. Mr Schue wasn't happy with her rendition of 'Gives you hell' but it didn't particularly bother her. She thought that their rendition of 'Hello Goodbye' was passable but didn't want to do it at regionals.

A few days later all the glee girls were sitting in the choir room and Tina told them how Artie had been treating her. Later that day in glee club, Mr Schuester told them that they were doing a Madonna assignment and berated the boys for their attitude. Just as Rachel was about to get up and demonstrate the door to the choir room opened.

* * *

A/N: I wonder who that could be? hmmm... ;] And just in case it isn't clear, Quinn is not pregnant in this story.


	5. Chapter 5

Becky walked into the choir room and up to Mr Schue and handed him a note. It read _Madonna is mine! _Will looked around confused, wondering how Sue had found out so quickly. He wouldn't put it past her to have a nanny-cam somewhere in the room. He rolled his eyes.

"Thank you Becky." He nodded to her and she walked out. Before the door closed a hand caught it.

Jesse St. James walked into the choir room and Rachel wondered if she had actually gone mad. She blinked, but no he was actually there, looking very hot, in Rachel's opinion. He had caught a tan from his time in California and his hair was slightly shorter and coiffed in what looked like a very professional way. She was also sure that he was more muscular than he had been when he had left in August.

Mr Schue looked at him confused. "Jesse, what are you doing here?"

"I've transferred back and was wondering if I could join the glee club." He glanced at Rachel briefly who still hadn't wiped the shocked look off of her face. She wasn't the only one. The whole of New Directions were looking at him like he had grown two heads. It wasn't that he had come back it was more to do with him joining glee club.

Puck glared at Jesse coldly, which was understandable with the way that Quinn was looking at her ex-boyfriend. Jesse could tell that everyone in the room thought that he had joined because he had heard that Quinn had. He decided to leave them thinking that so it could be an even bigger shock when they found out that it was Rachel he was joining for. What could he say? He loved the dramatics of it.

"Can you sing?" Puck asked aggressively and Rachel remembered when she had posed a similar question and she knew that Jesse would spare nothing in this performance.

Jesse raised an eyebrow at Puck. "Of course I can." He spoke arrogantly and a few of them bristled.

"Prove it." Finn demanded.

"Guys, come on." Mr Schue spoke. "He doesn't need to do that."

"No, it's fair." Jesse said and Rachel knew he was dying to show them that he was far superior to all of them. Well except her, obviously.

"Okay." Mr Schue shrugged and Jesse nodded to the band and started singing Queen's 'Don't Stop Me Now'.

_Tonight I'm gonna have myself a real good time  
I feel alive and the world it's turning inside out Yeah!  
I'm floating around in ecstasy  
So don't stop me now don't stop me  
'Cause I'm having a good time having a good time_

Rachel wasn't at all surprised at his choice of song and when Jesse started singing Rachel looked around to see everyone's reactions. The majority of them would probably need a forklift to pry their chins from the ground. Jesse was rocking it in a way that would make Freddie proud.

_I'm a shooting star leaping through the skies  
Like a tiger defying the laws of gravity  
I'm a racing car passing by like Lady Godiva  
I'm gonna go go go  
There's no stopping me_

_I'm burning through the skies Yeah!  
Two hundred degrees  
That's why they call me Mister Fahrenheit  
I'm trav'ling at the speed of light  
I wanna make a supersonic man out of you_

_Don't stop me now I'm having such a good time  
I'm having a ball don't stop me now  
If you wanna have a good time just give me a call  
Don't stop me now ('Cause I'm having a good time)  
Don't stop me now (Yes I'm having a good time)  
I don't want to stop at all _

Mr Schue could hide neither his surprise nor his relief. He believed in Finn but the way that Jesse was moving and singing and owning the performance was something that would win them regionals. He was an incredible performer and Will couldn't believe that nobody had known this. He was more than good. He was mind blowing.

_I'm a rocket ship on my way to Mars  
On a collision course  
I am a satellite I'm out of control  
I am a sex machine ready to reload  
Like an atom bomb about to  
Oh oh oh oh oh explode_

As the shock wore off everyone started to get more into the song and most were singing back up for him. Jesse revelled in it and played up to the crowd showing that he was absolutely born to perform. He was enigmatic and charming and that came through even more prominently when he sang.

_I'm burning through the skies Yeah!  
Two hundred degrees  
That's why they call me Mister Fahrenheit  
I'm trav'ling at the speed of light  
I wanna make a supersonic woman of you_

_Don't stop me don't stop me don't stop me  
Hey hey hey!  
Don't stop me don't stop me  
Ooh ooh ooh (I like it)  
Don't stop me have a good time good time  
Don't stop me don't stop me  
Ooh ooh Alright  
I'm burning through the skies Yeah!  
Two hundred degrees  
That's why they call me Mister Fahrenheit  
I'm trav'ling at the speed of light  
I wanna make a supersonic woman of you_

_Don't stop me now I'm having such a good time  
I'm having a ball don't stop me now  
If you wanna have a good time  
Just give me a call  
Don't stop me now ('Cause I'm having a good time)  
Don't stop me now (Yes I'm having a good time)  
I don't wanna stop at all_

Jesse finished and the room broke into applause. Santana was looking at him like he was something she wanted to eat, Kurt seemed like he couldn't breathe and was staring at Jesse like he used to stare at Finn. Quinn was leaning forward in her seat smiling at him. Puck just looked annoyed but Mike and Matt were genuinely happy to see their friend. Everyone else in the room looked appropriately impressed.

As Jesse tried to catch his breath from his energetic performance Mr Schue patted him on the back. "Welcome to New Directions." He said and they shook hands. Just then the bell rang and they had to go to lunch. Everyone filed out but Rachel didn't move from her seat and once everyone had left Jesse walked over and sat next to her.

"Hey." He said.

"Hey? That's all you have to say?"

"I missed you." He tried smiling widely at her.

She rolled her eyes. "You could have called."

"I thought you understood." He argued starting to get annoyed. This wasn't the reunion he had envisioned.

"You gave me no choice in the matter and what about when you knew you were coming back?"

"It was kind of last minute and I wanted it to be a surprise."

"Well you certainly did surprise me." She conceded giving him the first smile. "And it was a very impressive performance."

"And what about you? Anything you want to tell me about the time I was away?" He asked her. She looked at him confused. "Finn?"

"Have you been stalking me?" She asked in outrage.

"Why would I need to when Jacob Ben Israel is here to do it for me?"

"You read his blog?" Jesse nodded. "Jesse! That just encourages him." She groaned.

"I needed to know what was going on." He defended. "So are you going to tell me why you spent the whole of last semester chasing after that jock?"

"I don't see how it's any of your business. You can't just come back and demand to know everything that happened while you were gone and expect me to fall straight into your arms. I have more self-respect than that."

"What, so you don't want me anymore?" He asked sceptically.

"I want you to prove to me that you want me. I want you to prove that you're not just going to leave again or push me away when things get hard."

"How did I-"

"You just walked away last time. You didn't even give us a chance to see if we could work long distance or anything. How am I supposed to know you won't do that again if we hit another road block?" She asked standing up and walking towards the door.

"Rachel." He called out and she looked back at him. "I'm not going anywhere. I will prove it to you."

She nodded and walked out of the choir room. Jesse sighed he had not been expecting that. He had thought that she would fall straight into his arms and they could pick up from where they left off but he could see why his actions over the summer would make her doubtful. He also knew, however, that she wouldn't be too difficult to win over. She had left it up to him and he never failed. He looked up at the board and saw that their assignment was Madonna and started brainstorming. The best way to win over Rachel Berry was with a song.

"So I didn't know you could sing like that."

Jesse looked up and saw Quinn standing in the doorway. "Quinn." He acknowledged but got back to his brainstorm.

"It's good to see you again." She said but he didn't reply. "You didn't say goodbye before you left."

"Why would I?" He finally gave up ignoring her. "You broke up with me for Finn Hudson."

"Why would you join glee if you're still mad at me? I thought you…"

"You thought I wanted you back?" He raised his eyebrows and scoffed.

"There's no need to be such an ass about it." She muttered.

"You dumped me for possibly the shallowest reason in history and you expect me to still want you? I joined glee because this is actually something that I like doing and just so you know, I got over you a long time ago. I've moved on." He told her vehemently.

"I don't believe you."

"Believe what you want." He grabbed his things and walked out of the room. She took arrogant to a whole new level and that was coming from Jesse St. James.

Rachel sat with Mercedes, Kurt, Tina and Artie at lunch but couldn't concentrate on anything but Jesse. Really, she just wanted to jump into his arms but she did mean what she said. As soon as he walked through the door she couldn't help all the doubts and fears that crept into her mind. She didn't know if it would be different now that they were in school and she didn't know if he would just ditch her again, just like Finn did, when he figured out she would drag down his rep. She hadn't really cared about Finn but she cared about Jesse.

It also didn't help that she could see Santana all over him where he was sitting with Mike and Matt catching up but at least she could see him pushing her away.

"Rachel. Rachel." Kurt spoke. "Are you even listening to us?"

"Oh, yeah. Sorry." She said focussing her attention on them.

"We were just talking about Jesse." Mercedes informed her. "Who knew he could sing like that?"

They all agreed with her statement but Kurt saw that Rachel wasn't. "Did you know?" He asked.

She sighed and decided to tell them. Jesse was in glee now. It wasn't like it was a huge secret. "We ended up doing a community production of Grease together over the summer before he moved away."

"Well, I think he may be gay." Kurt told the group and Rachel started to choke on the grape she had just put in her mouth. They looked at her suspiciously. "Do you want to refute that?" Kurt said.

"He isn't gay." She spoke definitely.

"Were you guys..?" Artie asked.

She didn't answer, instead she just looked down at her food and the others looked at each other knowingly. Realising that she couldn't deny it she begged them not to tell anyone.

"Just, don't tell anyone, not yet."

"Okay." They all agreed.

The next day in Glee the girls took them all to the auditorium and performed 'Express Yourself'. Jesse smirked, the message was clear and he knew that Rachel was singing to him. Partly because it suited their situation and partly because she didn't break eye contact with him the entire time. When the girls finished it was only him, Kurt and Mr Schue who were clapping and Jesse rolled his eyes. The other guys were being ridiculous but he would just have to show them how it's done.

They headed back to the choir room and all sat down. Rachel was sitting at the end of the front row and Jesse was grateful, she was in the perfect position.

"Girls, that was amazing." Mr Schue praised them. "Do any of the guys have anything to show us?" He tried looking around the room. They stayed silent and most of them looked away avoiding his gaze.

Jesse stood up. "I do."

"I told you he was gay." Everyone heard Puck mutter. Jesse rolled his eyes. He was secure in his sexuality and wasn't bothered if people thought he was gay.

"Okay, take it away." Mr Schue cleared the floor.

"I just thought I'd say that I got the message loud and clear and this song expresses exactly what I'm feeling." He said. He didn't look at Rachel but it would soon become clear that he was talking to her. The band started to play 'Burning Up' and Jesse stood in the middle of the room tapping his foot to the beat.

_Don't put me off 'cause I'm on fire  
And I can't quench my desire  
Don't you know that I'm burning up for your love  
You're not convinced that that is enough  
I put myself in this position  
And I deserve the imposition  
But you don't even know I'm alive  
And this pounding in my heart just won't die  
I'm burning up_

Rachel listened to the lyrics and smirked slightly before straightening out her expression but Jesse saw it.

_I'm burning up, burning up for your love  
I'm burning up, burning up for your love  
I'm burning up, burning up for your love  
For your love_

Rachel couldn't help the attraction she felt when she listened to him sing and watching him was making her blush.

_You're always closing your door  
Well that only makes me want you more  
And day and night I cry for your love  
You're not convinced that that is enough  
To justify my wanting you  
Now tell me what you want me to do  
I'm not blind and I know  
That you want to want me but you can't let go  
Come on, let go_

Jesse headed to the opposite side to Rachel and walked around the group while he sang.

_I'm burning up, burning up for your love  
I'm burning up, burning up for your love  
I'm burning up, burning up for your love  
For your love_

By the end of the chorus he was on the side where Rachel was sitting and he gracefully swung around down the step and onto his knees in front of her.

_Do you wanna see me down on my knees?_

He placed his hands on her lap as and leant back as he sang the next line.

_Or bending over backwards now would you be pleased?_

He nodded his head in the direction of the other guys and Rachel smiled at him.

_Unlike the others I'd do anything_  
_I'm not the same, I have no shame_

He knelt up straighter and looked right into her eyes.

_I'm on fire!_

Ooooohhhh

He jumped in a way that even impressed Mike and went on to sing the closing chorus passionately. He took a quick look at everyone, particularly Finn and he knew that he had surprised them once again. He stayed singing to Rachel, looking her deep in the eyes as he did.

_I'm burning up, burning up for your love  
I'm burning up, burning up for your love  
I'm burning up, burning up for your love  
For your love  
I'm burning up, burning up for your love  
I'm burning up, burning up for your love  
I'm burning up, burning up for your love  
I'm burning up, burning up for your love_

_You know you got me burning up, baby  
You know you got me burning up, baby_

_Burning up for your love  
Burning up for your love_

The group clapped and Jesse turned to Rachel for her response.

"It was good, you went slightly sharp on some of the higher notes." Jesse rolled his eyes and raised his eyebrows at her to continue with what he really wanted to here. "You _expressed yourself _very well but it's going to take more than that." She told him, enjoying the upper hand. He laughed and winked at her.

"I guess I'll just have to try again." He spoke good naturedly before taking his seat.

They were dismissed and he went to his locker. Puck came over to join him.

"So you're not gay?" Puck asked and Jesse shook his head. "And you want Berry?" He checked.

"More than you wouldn't believe."

"Okay good. It's good to have you back man."

"What, only now you know that I don't want Quinn back?" Jesse joked.

"Exactly." Puck nodded seriously and Jesse laughed at him.

"While we're on that topic… you and Rachel?"

"It was just making out." Puck assured him. "I thought she was into Finn." Jesse clenched his jaw. "But it must have been you because she never looked at Finn the way she was looking at you today and that was while she was supposedly playing hard to get."

Jesse nodded in thanks and they headed towards their history class.

* * *

A/N: I can picture perfectly the scene where Jesse is singing Burning Up but I don't know if I got it across that well but I tried =]. Expect a load more serenading and possibly some duets. Are you looking forward to seeing Jesse trying to win Rachel over?


End file.
